Reviews

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Studio: CAV Distribution

If you're a fan of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street saga, then you'll want to steer clear of the new cash grab remake and instead focus your sights on this excellent new documentary. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is an exhaustive four-hour documentary (with another four hours of extras!) focusing on the eight Nightmare movies that starred Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. The project consists of mostly interviews with the cast and crew of the eight films. Directors Daniel Farrands and Andrew Kasch previously worked on the similar Friday the 13th retrospective documentary His Name Was Jason. Unlike that film, which was severely gutted by studio interference, this documentary is independently financed and allows the interview subjects to be more candid in their recollections.

While the doc is mostly for fans only, the best material is about the creation of this iconic series on a budget. Independent studio New Line Cinema's rise is mostly because of Elm Street, and the stories from director/creator Wes Craven, New Line head Robert Shaye, and star Robert Englund about financial struggles and tight deadlines are frequently the most enlightening. Great input is also given from all of the directors of the series, particularly Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Die Hard 2: Die Harder), who was practically homeless before he had a crack at Elm Street. Overall, the documentary is the best behind-the scenes take on the series yet, but it isn't quite definitive, as actors Patricia Arquette and Craig Wasson (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors) and Yaphet Kotto (Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Alien) are curiously absent from a giant assembly of actors. Still, if you're a fan of the original films, this labor of love is a must-see. (www.elmstreetlegacy.com)

Submit your comment

Avid fan﻿ of the original franchise here (at just 20 years old), I really love all those 80’s-early 90’s horror flicks, had more psychological horror and less manipulated special effects, no CGI, and they’re amazing!!! And then I saw the remake and…it sucked, that Freddy wasn’t scary, he was disgusting, and I never saw the point of the plot, how can they not remember they knew each other since 5??? Very weak in my opinion, wouldn’t count on a sequel…

The original trilogy really gave me plenty a sleepless nights when I watched them in my younger days. The recent remake did not do justice to this revered horror franchise. This documentary should be an interesting look inside one of the most famous scary franchises out there.